Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-229248, filed Jul. 28, 2000, is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a game system, program and image generating method.
There is known an image generating system which can generate an image as viewed from a given viewpoint within a virtual three-dimensional or object space. Such a system is very popular since one can experience a so-called virtual reality through it. Now considering a image generating system for playing a gun game, a player (or operator) can enjoy a three-dimensional shooting game by manipulating a gun-shaped controller (or shooting device) to shot targets such as enemy characters (or model objects) and the like which are displayed on a screen.
In order to improve the virtual reality for a player in such an image generating system, it was an important technical problem to produce more realistic images. It is thus desirable that for example, even a glow or halo occurring about a light source such as flame or candle can more really be represented.
However, when such a glow or halo is to be represented more truly by a physical simulation, the process load on the game system will highly be increased. This cannot meet requirements for the real-time processing in which all the objects must have been drawn during one frame.
As one technique of representing such a glow or halo, it may be considered that any object virtually representing the glow or halo is merely disposed at the position of the light source.
However, such a technique cannot represent the diffraction (wraparound) of the glow or halo. Thus, it cannot highly improve the reality in image.
One aspect of the present invention provides a game system generating an image, comprising:
means for performing a processing to display at least part of a light source effect object, which is used to virtually represent a glare of a light source, nearer to a viewpoint than a first object, when the first object located nearer to the viewpoint than the light source overlaps the light source effect object as viewed from the viewpoint; and
means for generating an image viewable from the viewpoint in an object space.
Another aspect of the present invention also provides a game system generating an image, comprising:
means for making non-display a light source effect object used to virtually represent a glare of a light source or for reducing effect intensity of the light source effect object when a first object is on a line between the light source and a viewpoint; and
means for generating an image viewable from the viewpoint in an object space.
Further aspect of the present invention further provides a game system for generating an image, comprising:
means for varying effect intensity of a light source effect object, which is used to virtually represent a glare of the light source, according to a degree of overlap between the light source and a first object located nearer to a view point than the light source or between the light source effect object and the first object as viewed from the viewpoint; and
means for generating an image viewable from the viewpoint in an object space.